Media and Information Literacy

Media and Information Literacy

Today, most students and teachers get their news and knowledge from mobile phones, social media, video platforms, search engines and messaging apps. Anyone can publish anything online in seconds, without an editor or fact-checker. This makes the internet a powerful source of learning, but also a place where false, misleading or manipulated content spreads quickly.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) helps people deal with this. It is a key part of digital citizenship, which means using technology responsibly, safely, ethically and critically.

Meaning

UNESCO brings two older ideas together under the term MIL:

• Media literacy: the ability to understand how media works, who creates messages, why, and how they affect us.
• Information literacy: the ability to recognise when information is needed, and to find, evaluate, use and share it properly.

Simple definition: MIL is the set of knowledge, skills and attitudes that helps a person access, analyse, evaluate, create and share information and media content in a wise and responsible way.

Key Competencies of a Media- and Information-Literate Person

Why MIL Matters in Education

1. Students research online for projects and assignments. Poor sources lead to poor learning.
2. Young people are heavy users of social media, so they are easy targets for false content.
3. Democracy needs informed citizens who can judge news, elections and public issues.
4. Safety: false health advice, scams and harmful challenges can cause real harm.
5. Teachers are role models and need to teach these skills, not only subject content.
6. Policy support: India’s National Education Policy 2020 stresses digital literacy, critical thinking and the safe use of technology.

Types of Problematic Information (Information Disorder)

Researchers Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan (2017) used the term “information disorder” for all the false or harmful content in our information system. They divide it into three types based on two questions: Is the content false? Is there an intention to harm?

Verification of Online Information

Meaning of Verification

Verification means checking whether information is true, accurate and trustworthy before believing it, using it or sharing it. In simple words, it is the habit of asking, “Is this really correct?”

The internet allows anyone to publish anything without an editor or fact-checker. Because of this, false, old, edited or misleading content can look just as professional as real information. Verification is the main defence against this problem, and it is one of the most important skills of a digital citizen.

Why Verification Is Needed

• Students use the internet for assignments, projects and exam preparation, and wrong information leads to wrong learning.
• False health messages, fake job offers and scams can cause real harm.
• False content spreads faster than corrections, especially on social media and messaging apps.
• Sharing unchecked content can spread panic, hurt people or damage reputations.
• Teachers are role models, so their own verification habits influence students.

The Basic Questions (5W Approach)

Before accepting any information, ask these simple questions:

• Who created it? Is the person or organisation known and qualified?
• What is being claimed? Is there any proof or evidence?
• Where was it published? Is it a reliable website, or an unknown page?
• When was it published? Is it current, or is an old story being shown as new?
• Why was it created? To inform, sell, persuade or entertain?

Example: A photo of a flooded street is shared as “today’s flood in our city.” Asking when and where may show that the photo is from a different city, five years ago.

The CRAAP Test

Librarians and teachers use this test to judge the quality of a source. It is especially useful for academic work.

Example: A student is writing an assignment on climate change. A research article by a university scientist, with references and a recent date, scores high on authority and accuracy. An anonymous blog with no sources and many advertisements scores low. The student should use the first and avoid the second.

The SIFT Method

SIFT was developed by digital literacy educator Mike Caulfield. It is a quick four-step habit that can be used within a minute.

Stop. Pause before believing or sharing. Ask yourself if you know the source. Notice if the content is making you very angry, scared or excited, because strong emotion is a warning sign.

Investigate the source. Find out who is behind the information. Is it a trained journalist, an expert, a company, or an unknown person?

Find better coverage. Look for other reliable sources reporting the same thing. If a big event is true, several trusted news outlets will usually report it.

Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context. Find where the statement, quote, statistic or image first came from. Often the original context is very different from what is being claimed.

Example: A quote is shared with a famous leader’s name and photo. Tracing it may show that the leader never said it, or that it was cut from a longer speech that changes its meaning.

Lateral Reading

Researchers at Stanford University found that professional fact-checkers do not stay on a suspicious page to decide whether it is trustworthy. Instead, they leave the page and open new tabs to see what other independent sources say about it. This method is called lateral reading.

Ordinary readers often make the mistake of reading the “About Us” page of a website. But this page is written by the website itself and will always praise itself.

Example: You find a website called “National Health Truth” that promotes a miracle cure. Instead of reading the site further, open a new tab and search for its name along with words like “review”, “fake” or “who runs”. If doctors and fact-checkers say it is unreliable, you have your answer quickly.

Practical Techniques of Verification

Checking Text and News

• Read the full article, not only the headline. Headlines are often exaggerated to get clicks.
• Check the website address (URL). Fake sites often copy real names with small changes, such as “bbc-news.co” instead of “bbc.com”.
• Look for the author’s name, date, contact details and sources.
• Search the main sentence of the claim to see if reliable outlets report it.
• Be careful with numbers and statistics. Check the original study or report, and see whether the data is complete or only partly shown.

Checking Images

• Use reverse image search tools such as Google Images, Google Lens or TinEye. These show where else the image has appeared and often reveal the first date it was posted.
• Look for signs of editing, such as strange shadows, blurred edges or unnatural sizes.
• Observe small details like clothes, vehicle number plates, shop boards, language on signs and weather. These may not match the place or time claimed.

Example: A photo of a protest is shared with the claim that it happened yesterday in a certain city. A reverse image search shows the same photo was published four years ago in another country. The claim is false.

Checking Videos

• Watch the complete video, not only a short clip, as clips can remove important context.
• Take screenshots of key moments and run them through reverse image search.
• Check who first uploaded the video and on what date.
• Listen to the language, accents and background sounds to see if they match the claimed location.

Checking Social Media Accounts

• A verification badge helps but does not prove that the content is correct.
• Check when the account was created, how many followers it has, and what it has posted earlier.
• Be careful of accounts with no personal details, no history, or accounts that only post one kind of emotional or political content.
• Check for imposter accounts that copy the name and photo of a real person or organisation.

Checking Messages on Messaging Apps

• Be careful with messages that say “Forwarded many times.”
• Do not trust messages without a named source.
• Search the text of the message online before sharing it.

Using Fact-Checking Organisations

Fact-checking organisations are groups of trained journalists and researchers who verify viral claims and publish their findings.

• International: Snopes, FactCheck.org, AFP Fact Check, Reuters Fact Check.
• India: Alt News, BOOM, Factly, and the PIB Fact Check unit of the Government of India.

Search engines may also show fact-check labels beside some results. Students should learn to use these websites regularly.

Warning Signs That Information May Be False

• A very shocking or emotional headline
• Many spelling and grammar mistakes
• No author, no date and no source
• Requests such as “Forward to 10 people” or “Share before it is deleted”
• Claims of a “secret cure” or “what the media will not tell you”
• Only one source, with no reliable outlet supporting it
• A photo or video without clear details of when and where it was taken
• Offers that seem too good to be true, such as free money or free mobile data

Worked Example

Message received: “The government will shut down the internet for three days from tomorrow. Forward to everyone!”

Conclusion: The message is false. The correct action is not to share it, and to politely tell the sender that it is untrue.

Difficulties in Verification

• Speed: false content spreads faster than fact-checks.
• Volume: there is too much content for anyone to check everything.
• Private groups: messages spread in closed groups, making them hard to track.
• Language gap: fact-checking material is limited in many regional languages.
• Advanced technology: AI-made images, videos and voices are becoming harder to identify.
• Over-doubt: if students learn to distrust everything, they may reject even reliable sources. The aim is balanced and evidence-based judgement, not cynicism.
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Role of Teachers in Teaching Verification

• Teach SIFT, CRAAP, lateral reading and reverse image search as regular classroom skills.
• Use real examples of viral false claims for discussion.
• Encourage students to ask for evidence and to say “How do we know this?”
• Give assignments that require citing and checking sources.
• Show good habits by not sharing unverified content themselves.

Sample activities:

• Fact-check challenge: students verify five viral claims using SIFT.
• Reverse image lab: students find the original source of an old photo used in a false story.
• Headline versus content: students compare clickbait headlines with the actual article.
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Golden Rule

Stop. Think. Verify. Then share.

Conclusion

Verification of online information is a basic skill for learning and citizenship in the digital age. Tools like the 5W questions, CRAAP test, SIFT method, lateral reading, reverse image search and fact-checking websites help learners separate reliable information from false or misleading content. When students make verification a daily habit, they become safer, more responsible and better informed, and they help to protect the wider information environment.

Misinformation and Disinformation

Introduction

Not all false content online is the same. Some false information is shared by mistake, and some is shared on purpose to cheat or harm people. Researchers Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan (2017) used the term information disorder to describe all such harmful or false content in our information system. They separated it into three types by asking two questions: Is the content false? and Is there an intention to harm?

This note focuses on misinformation and disinformation, with a short mention of malinformation for comparison.

Misinformation

Meaning

Misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is shared without the intention to harm. The person sharing it usually believes it is true and often wants to help others.

Examples

• A student forwards a WhatsApp message saying, “Drinking hot water every hour kills viruses.” The student sincerely wants to protect friends, but the claim is false.
• A teacher shares an old photo of a flood, thinking it is from this year’s flood.
• A person posts a wrong exam date in a class group because they misread the notice.
• A social media post shares a wrong statistic, such as an incorrect population figure, because the writer copied it without checking.

Why It Spreads

• People trust messages from friends and family.
• People want to warn or help others quickly.
• Many people forward messages without reading them fully.
• Content that looks official, with logos and technical words, seems believable.
• Messages that say “Forward to everyone” push people to share.

Harm Caused

Even though the intention is good, misinformation can cause serious damage. False health advice may delay proper treatment. A false rumour about a natural disaster may create panic. Wrong study material can lead students to learn incorrect facts.

Disinformation

Meaning

Disinformation is false information that is created or shared deliberately to mislead, deceive, gain an advantage or cause harm. The key difference from misinformation is the intention. The creator knows it is false.

Examples

• A fake website that looks like a real news channel and publishes made-up stories to influence voters during an election.
• A false message that a school examination is cancelled, spread to create confusion.
• Fake product reviews written by a company to cheat buyers.
• A false message saying “You have won a lottery. Click here to claim,” used to steal bank details (this is also called phishing).
• Organised campaigns that spread false stories to create hatred between communities.

Common Motives

• Money: clickbait pages earn advertisement income when more people visit; scammers steal money.
• Politics: to defeat opponents, influence elections or shape public opinion.
• Hatred: to attack a religion, caste, gender, nationality or any group.
• Fame or attention: to gain followers and likes.
• Confusion: to make people lose trust in all information, so they do not know what to believe.

Methods Used

• Creating fake accounts and pages that pretend to be real people or organisations
• Using bots (automated accounts) to make a false post look popular
• Editing photos and videos, or creating AI-made content such as deepfakes
• Mixing some true facts with false claims to appear believable
• Using emotional headlines to make people share quickly

Difference Between Misinformation and Disinformation

Important point: A message can begin as disinformation and become misinformation. For example, a fake story is created on purpose (disinformation), but thousands of ordinary people who believe it and forward it are spreading misinformation.

Malinformation (Brief Comparison)

Malinformation is true information shared to harm a person, group or institution.

Examples: sharing someone’s private photos without permission, revealing a person’s home address to threaten them, or leaking private medical details to shame them. Here the information is real, but the purpose is harmful.

Seven Forms of Problematic Content

Claire Wardle described seven forms in which false or misleading content appears:

1. Satire or parody: meant as a joke, but some people may take it as real news.
2. Misleading content: using facts or statistics in a tricky way to support a wrong point.
3. Imposter content: pretending to be a real source, such as using a famous news channel’s logo.
4. Fabricated content: completely false and made up.
5. False connection: headline or picture does not match the actual content (clickbait).
6. False context: real content shared with wrong background information, such as an old video shown as recent.
7. Manipulated content: real images or videos edited to deceive.

Related Terms

• Fake news: a popular but confusing term. Experts prefer “misinformation” and “disinformation” because “fake news” is often used loosely, even for news people simply dislike.
• Rumour: an unverified story passed from person to person.
• Hoax: a planned trick to fool people.
• Clickbait: exciting headlines designed to make people click.
• Propaganda: one-sided information used to promote a cause or political view.
• Infodemic: too much information, including false information, during a crisis. The World Health Organization used this word during COVID-19.

Why People Believe and Share False Information

1. Emotional appeal: content that creates fear, anger or excitement spreads faster than calm, factual content.
2. Confirmation bias: people accept information that matches their beliefs and reject what does not.
3. Trust in familiar people: a message from a relative or friend feels safe.
4. Speed and habit: people scroll and share quickly without thinking.
5. Repetition: seeing a claim many times makes it feel true. This is called the illusory truth effect.
6. Lack of skills: many people were never taught how to check a source.
7. Social pressure: people share content to fit into a group or look well informed.

Effects on Society and Education

• Health: false cures and rumours about vaccines or diseases put lives at risk.
• Safety: false rumours about child kidnappers have led to mob violence in some places.
• Democracy: false political content can influence voters and reduce trust in elections.
• Social harmony: hate-filled false stories can increase tension between groups.
• Education: students may use wrong information in assignments and exams. Teachers and schools may also lose the trust of parents due to false rumours.
• Financial loss: fake investment schemes, job offers and online shopping frauds cheat people of money.
• Loss of trust: when people cannot tell truth from falsehood, they may stop trusting even reliable sources such as doctors, scientists and teachers.

How to Deal with Misinformation and Disinformation

For Individuals

• Follow the rule: Think. Verify. Then share.
• Use methods such as SIFT, the CRAAP test, lateral reading and reverse image search.
• Check fact-checking websites such as Alt News, BOOM, Factly and PIB Fact Check.
• Do not forward messages that create fear or anger without checking.
• If you shared something false, delete it and post a correction.
• Report false and harmful content using the platform’s report button.

For Teachers and Schools

• Teach media and information literacy as part of regular lessons.
• Use real viral examples for classroom discussion.
• Start fact-check clubs and media clubs.
• Encourage students to ask, “How do we know this is true?”

For Parents

• Talk openly with children about what they see online.
• Encourage them to ask before believing or forwarding a message.

For Platforms and Government

• Label or remove harmful false content.
• Take action against fake accounts and organised campaigns.
• Provide clear reporting systems and fact-check labels.
• Make and apply suitable laws. In India, provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and criminal law on defamation, impersonation and promoting enmity may apply. Serious online cases can be reported on the cyber-crime helpline 1930 or at gov.in.

Conclusion

Misinformation and disinformation are both false, but they differ in intention. Misinformation is shared by mistake, while disinformation is shared deliberately to deceive. Both spread fast in the digital world because of emotion, trust, habit and social media algorithms, and both can harm health, safety, education and democracy. The best protection is a combination of critical thinking, verification skills, responsible sharing and support from teachers, parents, platforms and laws. A digitally literate citizen does not only avoid being fooled, but also helps others to think carefully before they share.

Deepfakes and Algorithmic Influence

Today, what we see online is shaped by two powerful forces. The first is artificial intelligence (AI), which can create very realistic fake images, videos and voices. The second is algorithms, which decide what content appears on our screens. Both can make it harder to know what is true and what is not. A digitally literate citizen must understand how they work, what risks they carry, and how to stay safe.

Deepfakes

Meaning of Deepfake

A deepfake is a video, image or audio recording that has been created or changed using artificial intelligence to show a person saying or doing something they never said or did. The word comes from “deep learning” (a type of AI) and “fake”.

Simple example: A video appears online in which a famous leader seems to announce a new rule. The face, voice and lip movement look perfect, but the leader never said those words. The video was made by AI.

How Deepfakes Are Made

Many deepfakes use a technology called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). In simple terms:

• One AI system (the creator) makes fake content.
• Another AI system (the detector) tries to find out whether it is fake.
• Both keep improving by competing, until the fake looks very real.

The term became popular around 2017. Today, many easy-to-use apps and websites can create such content in a few minutes, even without technical knowledge. This is why the problem has grown so fast.

Types of Deepfakes

• Face swap: one person’s face is placed on another person’s body in a video.
• Lip-sync or puppet videos: a real video is changed so that the person appears to say new words.
• Voice cloning: AI copies a person’s voice from a short audio sample and can then “speak” any sentence in that voice.
• Fully AI-generated images: realistic pictures of people, places or events that never existed.
• AI-generated text: articles, reviews or chat messages that look as if a human wrote them.

Harmful Uses of Deepfakes

Political manipulation. Fake videos of leaders making statements can mislead voters or create tension, especially close to elections.

Fraud and scams. A cloned voice of a family member may call and say, “I am in trouble, send money urgently.” In another type of fraud, a fake video call of a company officer is used to order a money transfer.

Harassment and abuse. Fake images or videos are made to shame, threaten or blackmail people. Women and girls are often the main targets. This is a serious form of online abuse and a crime.

Spreading false news. A fake image of an explosion or a disaster can spread panic within minutes.

Damage to trust. When fake content becomes common, people begin to doubt even real videos and photographs. This is known as the “liar’s dividend”. A person who has really done something wrong can simply say, “That video is just a deepfake.”

Educational risk. Students may use AI-made images or fake “historical” videos in projects without knowing they are false.

Positive Uses of Synthetic Media

Not all AI-generated media is harmful. It can be used to:

• Create educational videos and translate lessons into many languages with natural-sounding dubbing.
• Bring historical figures “to life” in museum or classroom learning, when clearly labelled as AI-made.
• Help people who have lost their voice through illness to speak again with a digital voice.
• Support film-making, animation and other creative arts.

The key points are consent, honesty and clear labelling.

How to Spot Deepfakes

Look for these signs, though better-quality fakes may not show them:

• Unnatural blinking or stiff facial expressions
• Blurry or flickering edges around the face, hair or neck
• Lip movement that does not match the speech
• Skin that looks too smooth, or lighting that does not match the background
• Strange details such as extra fingers, odd teeth, uneven ears or unreadable text in images
• A flat, robotic or oddly emotional voice
• Sudden jumps or glitches when the person turns their head

Better strategies than only looking at the video:

• Check the source. Who posted it first? Is it an official account?
• See whether reliable news outlets report the same event.
• Search for the original video or the full speech.
• Use reverse image search on key frames of the video.
• Use AI-detection tools carefully, because no tool is completely reliable.
• If a call or message asks for money urgently, confirm by calling the person on a number you already know. Some families also keep a private “code word” for emergencies.
• Be extra careful when a video seems perfectly made to make you angry or scared.

Legal and Ethical Response

Many countries are making laws to control harmful deepfakes. In India, existing laws such as the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its Rules, along with criminal law provisions on impersonation, defamation, obscenity and threats, can be applied. The government has also issued advisories asking online platforms to act against deceptive synthetic content. Since rules change often, students should check current official sources.

Ethical rules for citizens:

• Never create fake content about a real person without their permission.
• Do not share suspicious or harmful synthetic media, even as a joke.
• Report such content to the platform. In serious cases, report to the cyber-crime helpline 1930 or the portal gov.in in India.
• Support victims and do not blame them.

Algorithmic Influence

What Is an Algorithm?

An algorithm is a set of step-by-step instructions that a computer follows to complete a task. On social media, video apps and search engines, algorithms decide what content you see, in what order, and how often.

Simple example: If you watch three cricket videos on a video app, the algorithm guesses that you like cricket and shows you more cricket videos.

How Recommendation Algorithms Work

Platforms collect data such as:

• What you like, share, comment on or watch
• How long you stay on a video or post
• Your search history
• Your location, device and contacts
• What other users similar to you prefer

The algorithm uses this data to predict what will keep you on the app for the longest time, and then shows you more of it. Platforms earn money from advertisements, so more time spent by users means more income. This business model is called the attention economy.

Important point: The feed is not a neutral mirror of the world. It is a personalised selection made for a purpose, mainly engagement.

Effects of Algorithmic Influence

Filter Bubbles

The term was made popular by Eli Pariser (2011). A filter bubble is a personalised information space in which you mostly see content that matches your past behaviour and opinions.

Example: Two students search for the same topic on the same platform. Their results and suggestions differ, because each has a different history of clicks and views.

Echo Chambers

An echo chamber is a social space, such as a group or community, where people mostly hear opinions similar to their own. These views are repeated again and again and become stronger. Opposing views rarely appear.

Difference: A filter bubble is created mainly by algorithms; an echo chamber is created by the group and by our own choices, though algorithms can make both stronger.

Amplification of Emotional and Extreme Content

Content that causes strong feelings such as anger, fear or excitement gets more clicks, comments and shares. Algorithms may push such content to more people. As a result, shocking falsehoods can spread faster than calm, factual content.

Polarisation

When people see only one side of an issue, groups can become more divided and less willing to understand each other. Public discussion may turn into “us against them”.

Rabbit Holes

A user who watches one video on a topic, such as a health myth, may be led step by step to more extreme videos on the same topic. This is called a rabbit hole effect.

Effects on Attention and Wellbeing

Endless scrolling, autoplay and constant notifications are designed to hold attention. This can reduce concentration, affect sleep and study time, and increase stress, comparison with others and anxiety.

Data Privacy and Profiling

Platforms build detailed profiles of users for targeted advertising and sometimes for political messages. The Cambridge Analytica case, revealed in 2018, showed how personal data of millions of Facebook users was misused for political targeting.

Bias in Algorithms

Algorithms learn from data created by humans, so they may repeat human unfairness. For example, a system trained on biased data might show different job advertisements to different groups of people.

Algorithmic Influence in Education

Benefits:

• Adaptive learning apps can adjust lessons to each student’s speed and level.
• Platforms can suggest useful videos, books and courses.

Risks:

• Students may see only limited viewpoints and think that is the whole picture.
• Search engines often show popular or paid results first, and these are not always the most accurate.
• AI chatbots can give fluent answers that contain errors or invented facts (known as “hallucinations”), so their output must always be checked.
• Student data collected by learning apps needs careful protection.
• Automated systems may treat some learners unfairly if the data behind them is biased.

How Algorithms and Deepfakes Work Together

Deepfakes and algorithms strengthen each other’s effect. A deepfake is created, and the algorithm, which favours shocking and emotional content, pushes it to millions of users quickly. Bots and fake accounts can also make it look popular, which makes people trust it more. So students must protect themselves from both the fake content and the system that spreads it.

How to Reduce Negative Algorithmic Influence

• Diversify your sources. Follow different types of reliable news and educational sources.
• Search actively. Do not depend only on recommended feeds; type your own searches.
• Check privacy and personalisation settings. Limit data sharing where possible.
• Turn off autoplay and set screen-time limits.
• Use “Not interested” and “Report” tools to guide your feed.
• Ask yourself: “Why am I seeing this?” and “Who gains if I believe or share this?”
• Take regular breaks from social media and read longer, reliable material such as books and reputed journals.
• Compare results using different search engines or private browsing.
• Verify before sharing, using SIFT, CRAAP and reverse image search.

Role of Teachers, Schools and Parents

Teachers:

• Explain how recommendation systems and AI-generated media work, in simple language.
• Show real examples of deepfakes and filter bubbles for discussion.
• Encourage students to verify AI-generated answers with reliable sources.

Schools:

• Include MIL and AI awareness in the curriculum and teacher training.
• Make clear rules for responsible use of AI tools and social media.
• Set up counselling and complaint systems for students who face online abuse.

Parents:

• Talk openly with children about what they see online.
• Set family rules for screen time.
• Tell children that they can report fake or abusive images to a trusted adult without fear of blame.

Sample classroom activities:

• Spot the fake: students compare real and AI-made images and discuss the clues.
• Feed comparison: students discuss (without sharing private data) how their recommendations differ.
• Debate: “Should platforms be responsible for harmful AI-generated content?”
• Poster campaign: “Pause. Check. Then share.”

Worked Example

Situation: A video is shared on a class group showing a well-known person making a shocking statement. The group members are angry and want to forward it.

Challenges

• Deepfake technology improves faster than detection tools.
• Users often do not know how algorithms work, because platforms keep them secret.
• Fake content spreads faster than corrections.
• Fact-checking and awareness material is limited in many regional languages.
• Over-suspicion can make people doubt even genuine evidence (the liar’s dividend).
• Unequal digital skills and access among students and teachers.

Conclusion

Deepfakes show that seeing and hearing are no longer enough to prove that something is real. Algorithmic influence shows that what appears on our screens is not random, but chosen to hold our attention. Together, they can spread false content, deepen divisions and affect our wellbeing and privacy. However, AI and algorithms also bring benefits when used honestly and responsibly. The solution is not fear, but awareness. Learners should question what they see, check sources, control their settings, diversify their information and act ethically. A digitally literate citizen uses technology wisely and does not let technology decide what to think.

Resources